Local government: properties eligible to claim or receiving a welfare exemption.

The Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act of 1982, after a community facilities district has been created and authorized to levy specified special taxes, authorizes the legislative body, by ordinance, to levy the special taxes at the rate and apportion them in the manner specified in the resolution forming the community facilities district. The act requires properties or entities of the state, federal, or local governments, except as otherwise provided, to be exempt from the special tax. This bill would also require property receiving a welfare exemption, as specified, to be exempt from the special tax. The bill would require this exemption to apply to taxes imposed by an ordinance adopted on or after January 1, 2020. The Planning and Zoning Law provides that any action by a city, county, city and county, or other local governmental agency in this state is null and void if it denies to any individual or group of individuals the enjoyment of residence, landownership, tenancy, or any other land use in this state because of, among other things, the method of financing of any residential development of the individual or group of individuals. That law also prohibits a city, county, city and county, or other local governmental agency from prohibiting or discriminating against a residential development or emergency shelter because of, among other things, the method of financing. This bill would define "method of financing" for the purposes described above to include the eligibility to claim a welfare exemption, as specified. The Housing Accountability Act, which is part of the Planning and Zoning Law, prohibits a local agency from disapproving, or conditioning approval in a manner that renders infeasible, a housing development project for very low, low-, or moderate-income households or an emergency shelter unless the local agency makes one of specified findings, including that the housing development project or emergency shelter as proposed would have a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety, and there is no feasible method to satisfactorily mitigate or avoid the specific adverse impact without rendering the development unaffordable, as provided, or rendering the development of the emergency shelter financially infeasible. The act defines "specific, adverse impact" for this purpose and prohibits inconsistency with the zoning ordinance or general plan land use designation from constituting a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety. This bill would additionally prohibit the eligibility to claim a welfare exemption, as specified, from constituting a specific, adverse impact upon the public health or safety. This bill would incorporate additional changes to Section 65589.5 of the Government Code proposed by SB 330 and SB 592 to be operative only if this bill and either or both SB 330 and SB 592 are enacted and this bill is enacted last.